Commuting - Disc Brakes: Dis/Adavantages

I had posted last week that I was rear ended and my bikes were pretty much destroyed. The other parties
insurance is covering the bikes. My bike that I'm replacing is a Trek 7.3fx. I only had the bike a few weeks before it was totaled, so really did not have a chance to break it in. I'm considering getting the same bike, but with disc brakes this time around.

I was wondering what the advantages & disadvantages with disc brakes? My primary use is for commuting to work & recreational rides. For the most part, somewhat level terrain. I have never rode a bike with bisc brakes, so I'm unsure.


Thanks

Do you pull any heavy loads with your bike? ride in muddy environments? Since you ride on flatland, if you don't do either of the above, than it's mostly just styling.

I am a fan of disc brakes though, but I do deal with mud and heavy loads...so that's why I'm a fan of them.

We discuss this here all the time. They are very popular among commuters who use their brakes a lot -- for instance, people who ride in urban traffic. I'll never buy another bike without them. On the other hand, many cyclists claim to be perfectly happy with rim brakes.

Thanks for reply. At the moment I am not carring too much weight. Put plan on doing some overnight camping while cycling. So I might end up with the disc brakes.
I did find a guide online for disc brakes that I will give a read.

Thanks again

both rim and disc have saved my ass. I do however love my disc brakes.

Discs are great if you have winter conditions like we have here in the Pacific Northwest with continual rain over a number of months, combined with some steep terrain. Rims and pads get ground down very quickly. I find myself wishing for discs all through those months. In the drier times, forget I wanted them, until next winter.

Thief magnet?

I have a road bike with dual pivot brakes, a urban assault mtn bike with discs, a mtn bike with v-brakes and a surly LHT that I am building up with v-brakes.

So far my experiences with disc brakes has been excellent. Easy to setup, easy to maintain and they stop well. I would only go for mechanical discs as I feel hyrdaullic discs require a whole different set of tools/skills than any other part of my bike - while mechanical discs are just like any other cable actuated bike component.

On the other hand I have no problems with any of my rim brake setups. They work well and are lighter than a disc brake. They do take a bit more fiddling than discs and are less tolerant of untrue wheels, but I don't let my wheels get out of true.

If I have a choice I would put discs on a new bike, but my LHT doesn't have that option so I put v-brakes on it - no big deal.

I took my first ride in a while on my road bike with Dura Ace 9 speed components(with aftermarket pads) (my former commuter)and after a couple of months on my current ride with Avid road disk brakes, the difference was huge. The amount of lever pressure with the Avids is much less and the stopping distances seem much shorter. And that is just in dry weather, in the wet there is no comparison.

I'm thinking about switching for a few reasons; less howling in the rain, better braking when it's icy & wet, and with all the sand and mud on my ride, rim brakes are starting to noticably eat through my rims. Someday they're gonna blow and that won't be pretty. I should switch before then.

Disc brakes are a luxury because you can survive without them - but I would prefer not. Being 200+ and probably never going to be much under 190 - I consider that carrying a lot of weight!

The smooth, reliable stops are worth a lot to me. I also ride where there is a lot of mud for 8 months a year - and rarely is it flat - you are going up or down.

Not to mention a pad life of 6 weeks in the winter for rim brakes.


I'm thinking about switching for a few reasons; less howling in the rain, better braking when it's icy & wet, and with all the sand and mud on my ride, rim brakes are starting to noticably eat through my rims. Someday they're gonna blow and that won't be pretty. I should switch before then.

Out of curiosity, what kind of problems does the fact that they are hydrolic cause? Does the fluid tend to freeze up in winter conditions? If so, at about what temperature?

How long do the hoses last? Are they prone to leaking?

I commuted all winter in Vancouver, LOTS of rain, LOTS of hills.

I had canti brakes front & back and used to go thru a set about every 4-6 weeks on the front. I was able to live with that, but it was an annoyance. Several times during the winter finding myself creating a light show of metal on metal sparks. Im sure someone will say "proper preventative maintanence would have prevented that". Thats true, but its also true that in the dark wet winter months, crap happens, like not checking often enough. Half way to work, with lots of wet hills left to go, and relying only on the rear brake sucks.

The canti's stopped me fine when they were freshly adjusted. My problem is im not a mechanic. And with the added force needed to stop with cantis compared to disc's, squeezing the brakes that hard all the time seemed to put them out of adjustment in several days of wet hilly riding. They would either make noise and drive me crazy, or grab and get me scared. Dry weather I never noticed having to adjust them, a week of rain and they needed service.

I got tired of constant maintenance, and only getting good performance under ideal conditions. I replaced my front canti with an Avid mech road disc. I've yet to replace my disc pads. Have had zero maintenance problems, including having to remove my front wheel every time i transport the bike. And all i need to ever do is turn the big red knob a notch every couple weeks.

I say their definatly a nice improvement if you live in places like pac north west with rain and hills, in arizona I wouldnt bother.

Edit: Also within 1 year riding period, I've had to replace a rim from sidewall dishing due to brake wear. But thats me and my use, dont take 1 year as typical.

My experience jibes with Jarery's on all the important points.

Out of curiosity, what kind of problems does the fact that they are hydrolic cause? Does the fluid tend to freeze up in winter conditions? If so, at about what temperature?

Depends on what type of fluid they use. If it's standard brake fluid,it won't freeze at any temperature a normal person would want to ride at. I've never had the brakes on my motorcycles freeze in 15deg weather.


How long do the hoses last? Are they prone to leaking?

Depends on if they're rubber or steel. Stainless steel hoses should be just about permanent. Rubber ones should last many years as long as they are taken care of(I've always ArmorAll'd the ones on my motorcycles). You just want to check them periodically for nicks/cuts.

What about mechanical disk brakes... I was out looking at a full suspension bike the other day and mechanical disks were mentioned... seems to me that less complicated should be better... any comments?

I use mech discs and like them.

Thing is: nothing to leak, and if a cable breaks, those are readily availible at any LBS, and easily installed.

Some people clam they are more fatiguing on your hands than hydraulic, but I've been a cable person all my life...I try to keep my bike stupidly simple.